Suspended CFO forces her way inside City of Mbombela building
Delight Sibanyoni, the City of Mbombela’s suspended CFO, arrived at the municipal building with armed men and forced her way into her office.

The City of Mbombela’s (CoM) CFO, Delight Sibanyoni, allegedly arrived at the municipal offices with a group of men armed with AK-47 assault rifles today, January 23.
The security officers there reportedly attempted to prevent Sibanyoni and her crew from entering the offices, but failed to do so.
She forcefully tried to get into her locked office, damaging the door in the process. We were all traumatised,” said a senior CoM employee, who asked to remain anonymous as he is not authorised to speak to the media.
Sibanyoni appeared before a disciplinary inquiry at the CoM on Monday, January 20, where her legal representative asked for a postponement to March.
The CoM’s municipal council had put Sibanyoni on special leave on July 30, after accusing her of misconduct that included irregular financial conduct, mismanagement of tenders and failure to properly account for municipal funds.
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Sibanyoni contested this on an urgent basis in a Labour Court sitting in Mbombela last August. The court had ruled the council’s resolution to place her on special leave as unconstitutional and set it aside, saying it was an indirect suspension.
The CoM’s respondents, including the speaker, the council and the mayor, argued that the matter was not urgent, but the court dismissed the notion. It left the matter in the municipality’s hands to deal with it in terms of the labour law. This led to the CoM officially placing Sibanyoni on suspension, while the investigation against her continues.
In a statement on its Facebook page, the CoM strongly condemned the forceful entry into its premises. “City of Mbombela condemns in the strongest terms the unlawful acts of intimidation and forced entry at its premises earlier today [Thursday, January 23].ׄ The group had instructed employees to vacate their offices.”
According to the statement, the municipality’s law enforcement personnel and the SAPS restored the situation. “The people that were found were taken in for questioning and will possibly face criminal charges. The CoM wants to assure the ratepayers that services will be resumed and all necessary measures are being taken to ensure its employees’ safety.”
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Lowvelder received some information indicating that Sibanyoni had been arrested. Her attorney, who asked to remain anonymous, confirmed that she was at the Nelspruit Police Station, but disputed that she had been arrested.
This publication reached out to the provincial police spokesperson, Brigadier Donald Mdhluli, for comment and awaits his response.